Add Google Shopping reach without adding marketing risk.
Most merchants leave 30\u201340% of Google Shopping auctions unwon because their in-house ROAS targets are tighter than the auction will bear. We win those auctions for you \u2014 and you only pay when we deliver a sale.
The problem
You have a Google Shopping campaign. It performs well against your ROAS targets. But every day, there are hundreds or thousands of auctions where your bid isn't high enough to win a placement in the Shopping carousel.
Those aren't bad auctions. They're auctions where the click price is higher than your in-house ROAS model can justify. The traffic is real, the purchase intent is real, but your cost-per-click ceiling means you sit them out.
That's the gap we fill. As a Google Comparison Shopping Service, we get a structural 20% auction advantage that your own campaigns don't have. But our real edge is in feed optimisation: we use sophisticated title and description algorithms to rewrite your product data for the queries your original feed isn't targeting. We're not just bidding differently — we're reaching searches your current campaigns never enter. All on a pure CPA basis, so you carry no risk.
How CSS works
In 2017, the European Commission ruled that Google was unfairly favouring its own comparison shopping service in Shopping results. The remedy: third-party Comparison Shopping Services can now bid for placements in the Google Shopping carousel on behalf of merchants.
When Google itself places a product listing, it takes a margin of roughly 20% from the bid. When a third-party CSS like Bidmagpie places the same listing, that 20% margin is removed. The practical effect: we can bid the same amount as Google Shopping but it costs us 20% less, or we can bid 20% more aggressively at the same cost.
We pass that advantage through as incremental wins. More auctions won, more traffic to your product pages, more sales tracked through your affiliate network. You only pay us a CPA on confirmed sales.
Google Shopping and Microsoft Shopping, side by side
We don't just run Google Shopping. Every retailer we work with gets Microsoft Shopping campaigns running in parallel, on the same CPA terms. One feed, two networks, double the incremental reach.
Microsoft Shopping covers Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, and the Edge browser — a combined 10–15% of UK search traffic that Google doesn't touch. CPCs are typically 30–50% lower than Google, and the audience skews higher-income, which tends to mean higher average order values.
We manage the feed optimisation, bidding, and tracking across both platforms. You see a single publisher line in your affiliate dashboard covering sales from both Google and Microsoft Shopping. Same model, no additional risk.
How we compare
The three options a Head of Digital is genuinely choosing between.
| In-house | CPC-based CSS | BidmagpieCPA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup fee | — | Often £1–5k | None |
| Monthly retainer | Agency fees apply | £500–5,000/mo | None |
| You pay for clicks? | Yes | Yes | No |
| You pay for impressions? | No | No | No |
| Risk if no sales | All on you | All on you | All on us |
| 20% CSS auction advantage | No | Yes (kept by CSS) | Yes (passed through) |
| Performance guarantee | No | No | Pay only on confirmed sales |
What you need to do
Four things. That's it.
- 1
Be on a network we support (Awin, CJ, Webgains, TradeTracker, or Rakuten).
- 2
Have a Google Shopping-eligible product feed.
- 3
Approve Bidmagpie as a publisher in your affiliate network.
- 4
Sign a one-page CPA agreement.
Vertical specialisations
Sample CPA ranges by category. Rates are negotiated per merchant.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to change my Google Ads or Merchant Center setup?
No. We work alongside your existing setup. You approve us via your affiliate network and we operate from our own Merchant Center. Your campaigns are unchanged.
How long does it take to go live?
From signed agreement to live campaigns: typically 5–10 working days. Most of that is feed processing and Google approval; once running, optimisation takes 2–4 weeks to settle.
What’s your CPA rate?
Vertical-dependent. Fashion typically 8–12%, electronics 3–6%, home & garden 6–10%, beauty 10–15%. We negotiate per merchant; rates are the same as comparable CSSs on Awin and CJ.
Will you compete with my own Shopping campaigns?
No, by design. Google’s auction rules mean a merchant cannot be outbid against itself. But more importantly, we use advanced title and description optimisation to target search queries your existing feed doesn’t match against. We’re not bidding on the same auctions at a different price — we’re surfacing your products in entirely different searches.
What happens if a customer returns the product?
The sale is reversed in your affiliate network and we earn no commission on it. We carry the click cost. This is core to the model — we share the risk.
Which networks do you work with?
Awin, CJ Affiliate, Webgains, TradeTracker, Rakuten Advertising. We can support others on request.
Which countries can you advertise in?
All 21 Google CSS-eligible markets: UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Greece, Portugal, Romania, Finland. Plus Microsoft Shopping coverage in additional markets.
Do you run Microsoft Shopping as well?
Yes. Every retailer we work with gets Microsoft Shopping campaigns running alongside Google, on the same CPA terms. Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, and Edge collectively carry 10–15% of UK search traffic. CPCs are typically 30–50% lower than Google, and the audience skews higher-income. You see one combined line in your affiliate dashboard — no additional setup required on your side.
Are you a Google Premier CSS Partner?
We are a participant in the Google CSS programme. Premier Partner status is awarded based on impression volume — we’ll get there.
Do you require an exclusivity clause?
No. You can work with as many CSSs as you like. Google’s auction rules ensure that doesn’t increase your costs.
What does the contract look like?
A one-page CPA agreement. No minimum term. 30-day termination notice on either side.
How do I see your performance?
Through your existing affiliate network dashboard. We’re a publisher in your account; our sales appear like any other publisher’s, with full transparency on which products and which queries drove sales.
What’s the catch?
There isn’t one, but the honest answer is: this only works for you if your product feed is in good shape and your category has decent margin. We’ll tell you upfront if your case isn’t a fit.
Ready to see what you're missing?
We'll audit your Google Shopping coverage and show you the auctions you're leaving unwon. 20 minutes, no obligation.